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Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center Journal, v. 14, no. 04, 1996-04

page1

INDIANAPOLIS
PEACE &JUSTICE
Volume XIV No. 4
Peace Is not merely the absence of War. It is the presence of justice.
April 1996
Guatemalan Human Rights Abuse
by Jimmie Ilachild
On Monday March 11 the IPJC
received a phone call from David Bryden,
coordinator of the Campaign for Peace
and Life in Guatemala, a network of
eleven religious groups with office in
Washington DC. The Campaign was
publishing an advertisement that day in
the influential Capitol Hill newspaper
Roll Call. The purpose was to send a
strong signal to Congress and the
Clinton Administration about the need
for full disclosure regarding U.S.
complicity with human rights violations
in Guatemala. Many national church
denominations endorsed the ad in addition
to the groups in the Campaign.
David wanted us to call Senator
Lugar's office to call his attention to the
ad and ask for action on the issue, due to
Lugar's influential position on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
and the Select Committee on
Intelligence.
Specifically, the advertisement urges
the prompt completion and full release to
the public of a report that the
Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB) is
preparing on the U.S. intelligence
relationship with Guatemala. The
investigation by the IOB was initiated
last April following revelations that a
paid CIA informant in Guatemala had
been involved in the death of American
Michael DeVine in 1990 and the death of
the husband of U.S. attorney Jennifer
Harbury in 1992 [see Feb. '96 IPJC
newsletter]. The report was expected to
have been completed last year. The ad
also requests that Congress sponsor hearings to consider how oversight of the intelligence agencies could be strengthened.
It is suspected that U.S. intelligence
agencies, because of their long-standing
ties with the Guatemalan Army, may
have information about considerable
human rights abuses in that country. In
testimony before the Senate Intelligence
Committee last year, then Acting CIA
Director Studcman disclosed that the CIA
had channeled funds totalling between 1
and 4.5 million dollars annually to the
military intelligence unit of the
Guatemalan Army.
I called Sen. Lugar's Washington
office, and also gave the information to
some other IPJC members who were on
hand for a mailing, some of whom called
Lugar's office from home. Late in
March, I received a letter from Sen.
Lugar (or an aide) saying, "I will have
your thoughts in mind should this report
be considered by the Committee in the
future." There was no mention of
working for prompt release of the full
report to the public.
Meanwhile in the U.S. House of
Representatives, Reps. Porter and
Lantos, co-chairs of the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus, circulated a
"Dear Colleague" letter asking members
to sign on to a letter to President
Clinton requesting the "comprehensive
and rapid declassification of all U.S.
government documents pertaining to
human rights violations in Guatemala."
I called Rep. Andy Jacobs' Indianapolis
office to ask if he had signed, and was
told he had.
[Some text for this article was taken
from a news release from the Campaign
for Peace and Life in Guatemala.]
One of the cases that is a focus of this
campaign to release information is that
of Sister Dianna Ortiz, an American nun
who was working as a missionery in
Guatemala, not involved in any political
activity. In 1989 she was abducted at
gunpoint by members of the Guatemalan
security forces and subjected to heinous
forms of torture. The perpetrators
responded to orders from a man they
referred to as "Alejandro," a U.S. citizen.
While detained, Dianna heard and
witnessed the torture of other
Guatemalans. At one point she was
lowered into a pit with bodies, some
writhing and some dead.
On Palm Sunday March 31, Sr.
Dianna began a silent vigil in front of
the White House calling for release of
the truth. Excerpts from an open letter
from Sr. Dianna are printed below.
Open Letter from Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU
More than six years ago, I became the
victim of the political violence that has
wracked the lives of so many innocent
people in Guatemala. Like the people of
Guatemala, I have lived the nightmare of
not knowing why I was targeted or who
was responsible. But I do know that an
American was present, directing my
torturers. They called him "Alejandro."
Instead of investigating the crimes
committed against me and other Guatemalans, the U.S. government orchestrated a smear campaign against me.
Finally, six years later, an investigation
was ordered, and although it has dragged
on for almost a year, I am still in the
dark. Why won't the U.S. government
tell me the truth? Who is Alejandro?
Why is the U.S. government protecting
him? Was he working for the CIA, like
the man who tortured Jennifer Harbury's
husband?
I filed a FOIA request nearly a year
ago. As of today, I have not received
one shred of paper. I have waited long
enough in darkness—a darkness that
enshrouds all of Guatemala. In solidarity
with the people of Guatemala, I will
make my silence a voice. .. .1 will plant
myself in front of the White House, in a
silent vigil for the TRUTH. I will ask
that all U.S. government documents on
my case be declassified; that the
Intelligence Oversight Board conduct a
thorough investigation and fully disclose
its findings to the public; and that all
U.S. government information related to
human rights abuses in Guatemala, from
1954 [ED NOTE: date of the CIA-
sponsored military coup in Guatemala!
to the present, be immediately declassified.
I need your help to make this
collective quest for truth a success. Call
or write the White House (tel: 202/456-
1111; fax: 202/456-2461) and National
Security Advisor Anthony Lake (tel:
202/456-9491; fax: 202/456-2883). Ask
that all U.S. government information
related to human rights abuses in
Guatemala be declassified immediately.
Urge President Clinton to release to the
public the full report of the Intelligence
Oversight Board, not just a summary of
the findings.
The truth shall set us free—so says
the CIA. Together we can part the
curtains of darkness and release the
Quetzal (national bird of Guatemala) to
soar in celebration of the freedom of her
people.
—Peace
S. Dianna Ortiz, OSU
IPJC Membership Meeting To Host
Speaker on Militia, Right-Wing Groups
>■><
Guest speaker at the annual IPJC
membership meeting, Tuesday, April 16,
will be David L. Ostendorf. He is a
United Church of Christ minister
currently serving as Director of the
Chicago-based Center for New
Community (CNC). The CNC does
faith-based organizing on social,
economic, and racial issues in six states,
including Indiana. Topic for his address
will be "Building Democracy:
Countering the Militias and the
Far-Right in the Midwest,"
currently one of the CNC's main
projects.
Ostendorf was a presenter at the
September 1995 program entitled "The
Culture of Hate: White Supremacy,
Extremism, and the Militia Movement,"
sponsored by the Indiana Interreligious
Commission on Human Equality
(I.I.C.H.E.) He is particularly well
qualified, because of his long experience
as an organizer working with rural area
churches in the Midwest, to speak on the
economic, social, and theological
underpinnings of the extreme Christian
Right, including the Christian Identity
movement which informs the thinking
of the Montana Freemen and other
militia organizations.
From 1981 until 1993 Ostendorf
served as Executive Director of
PrairieFire Rural Action, an
internationally known rural education,
training and organizing group based in
Des Moines, Iowa. It was during his
tenure with PrairieFire that he became
acquainted with the need to train people
to recognize and counter racism, bigotry,
and religious extemism.
The membership meeting will be held
at First Friends Meeting, 3030 Kessler
Boulevard, E. Dr., a few blocks south
and east of Glendale Shopping Mall. A
pitch-in supper will begin at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by Ostendorf s presentation at
7:15. The talk will be followed by the
annual business meeting and elections of
board members and officers. These
elections are particularly important this
year as the IPJC undertakes board
reorganization as recommended at the
March membership retreat.
Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center
500 East 42nd Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46205
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
DATED MATERIALS: April 9
Nonprofit Org.
U. S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 6315
Indianapolis, IN

INDIANAPOLIS
PEACE &JUSTICE
Volume XIV No. 4
Peace Is not merely the absence of War. It is the presence of justice.
April 1996
Guatemalan Human Rights Abuse
by Jimmie Ilachild
On Monday March 11 the IPJC
received a phone call from David Bryden,
coordinator of the Campaign for Peace
and Life in Guatemala, a network of
eleven religious groups with office in
Washington DC. The Campaign was
publishing an advertisement that day in
the influential Capitol Hill newspaper
Roll Call. The purpose was to send a
strong signal to Congress and the
Clinton Administration about the need
for full disclosure regarding U.S.
complicity with human rights violations
in Guatemala. Many national church
denominations endorsed the ad in addition
to the groups in the Campaign.
David wanted us to call Senator
Lugar's office to call his attention to the
ad and ask for action on the issue, due to
Lugar's influential position on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
and the Select Committee on
Intelligence.
Specifically, the advertisement urges
the prompt completion and full release to
the public of a report that the
Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB) is
preparing on the U.S. intelligence
relationship with Guatemala. The
investigation by the IOB was initiated
last April following revelations that a
paid CIA informant in Guatemala had
been involved in the death of American
Michael DeVine in 1990 and the death of
the husband of U.S. attorney Jennifer
Harbury in 1992 [see Feb. '96 IPJC
newsletter]. The report was expected to
have been completed last year. The ad
also requests that Congress sponsor hearings to consider how oversight of the intelligence agencies could be strengthened.
It is suspected that U.S. intelligence
agencies, because of their long-standing
ties with the Guatemalan Army, may
have information about considerable
human rights abuses in that country. In
testimony before the Senate Intelligence
Committee last year, then Acting CIA
Director Studcman disclosed that the CIA
had channeled funds totalling between 1
and 4.5 million dollars annually to the
military intelligence unit of the
Guatemalan Army.
I called Sen. Lugar's Washington
office, and also gave the information to
some other IPJC members who were on
hand for a mailing, some of whom called
Lugar's office from home. Late in
March, I received a letter from Sen.
Lugar (or an aide) saying, "I will have
your thoughts in mind should this report
be considered by the Committee in the
future." There was no mention of
working for prompt release of the full
report to the public.
Meanwhile in the U.S. House of
Representatives, Reps. Porter and
Lantos, co-chairs of the Congressional
Human Rights Caucus, circulated a
"Dear Colleague" letter asking members
to sign on to a letter to President
Clinton requesting the "comprehensive
and rapid declassification of all U.S.
government documents pertaining to
human rights violations in Guatemala."
I called Rep. Andy Jacobs' Indianapolis
office to ask if he had signed, and was
told he had.
[Some text for this article was taken
from a news release from the Campaign
for Peace and Life in Guatemala.]
One of the cases that is a focus of this
campaign to release information is that
of Sister Dianna Ortiz, an American nun
who was working as a missionery in
Guatemala, not involved in any political
activity. In 1989 she was abducted at
gunpoint by members of the Guatemalan
security forces and subjected to heinous
forms of torture. The perpetrators
responded to orders from a man they
referred to as "Alejandro," a U.S. citizen.
While detained, Dianna heard and
witnessed the torture of other
Guatemalans. At one point she was
lowered into a pit with bodies, some
writhing and some dead.
On Palm Sunday March 31, Sr.
Dianna began a silent vigil in front of
the White House calling for release of
the truth. Excerpts from an open letter
from Sr. Dianna are printed below.
Open Letter from Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU
More than six years ago, I became the
victim of the political violence that has
wracked the lives of so many innocent
people in Guatemala. Like the people of
Guatemala, I have lived the nightmare of
not knowing why I was targeted or who
was responsible. But I do know that an
American was present, directing my
torturers. They called him "Alejandro."
Instead of investigating the crimes
committed against me and other Guatemalans, the U.S. government orchestrated a smear campaign against me.
Finally, six years later, an investigation
was ordered, and although it has dragged
on for almost a year, I am still in the
dark. Why won't the U.S. government
tell me the truth? Who is Alejandro?
Why is the U.S. government protecting
him? Was he working for the CIA, like
the man who tortured Jennifer Harbury's
husband?
I filed a FOIA request nearly a year
ago. As of today, I have not received
one shred of paper. I have waited long
enough in darkness—a darkness that
enshrouds all of Guatemala. In solidarity
with the people of Guatemala, I will
make my silence a voice. .. .1 will plant
myself in front of the White House, in a
silent vigil for the TRUTH. I will ask
that all U.S. government documents on
my case be declassified; that the
Intelligence Oversight Board conduct a
thorough investigation and fully disclose
its findings to the public; and that all
U.S. government information related to
human rights abuses in Guatemala, from
1954 [ED NOTE: date of the CIA-
sponsored military coup in Guatemala!
to the present, be immediately declassified.
I need your help to make this
collective quest for truth a success. Call
or write the White House (tel: 202/456-
1111; fax: 202/456-2461) and National
Security Advisor Anthony Lake (tel:
202/456-9491; fax: 202/456-2883). Ask
that all U.S. government information
related to human rights abuses in
Guatemala be declassified immediately.
Urge President Clinton to release to the
public the full report of the Intelligence
Oversight Board, not just a summary of
the findings.
The truth shall set us free—so says
the CIA. Together we can part the
curtains of darkness and release the
Quetzal (national bird of Guatemala) to
soar in celebration of the freedom of her
people.
—Peace
S. Dianna Ortiz, OSU
IPJC Membership Meeting To Host
Speaker on Militia, Right-Wing Groups
>■><
Guest speaker at the annual IPJC
membership meeting, Tuesday, April 16,
will be David L. Ostendorf. He is a
United Church of Christ minister
currently serving as Director of the
Chicago-based Center for New
Community (CNC). The CNC does
faith-based organizing on social,
economic, and racial issues in six states,
including Indiana. Topic for his address
will be "Building Democracy:
Countering the Militias and the
Far-Right in the Midwest,"
currently one of the CNC's main
projects.
Ostendorf was a presenter at the
September 1995 program entitled "The
Culture of Hate: White Supremacy,
Extremism, and the Militia Movement,"
sponsored by the Indiana Interreligious
Commission on Human Equality
(I.I.C.H.E.) He is particularly well
qualified, because of his long experience
as an organizer working with rural area
churches in the Midwest, to speak on the
economic, social, and theological
underpinnings of the extreme Christian
Right, including the Christian Identity
movement which informs the thinking
of the Montana Freemen and other
militia organizations.
From 1981 until 1993 Ostendorf
served as Executive Director of
PrairieFire Rural Action, an
internationally known rural education,
training and organizing group based in
Des Moines, Iowa. It was during his
tenure with PrairieFire that he became
acquainted with the need to train people
to recognize and counter racism, bigotry,
and religious extemism.
The membership meeting will be held
at First Friends Meeting, 3030 Kessler
Boulevard, E. Dr., a few blocks south
and east of Glendale Shopping Mall. A
pitch-in supper will begin at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by Ostendorf s presentation at
7:15. The talk will be followed by the
annual business meeting and elections of
board members and officers. These
elections are particularly important this
year as the IPJC undertakes board
reorganization as recommended at the
March membership retreat.
Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center
500 East 42nd Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46205
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
DATED MATERIALS: April 9
Nonprofit Org.
U. S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 6315
Indianapolis, IN